Our Prisoners' Letter includes excerpts
from
our Bulletin and our other
publications.
Those publications, which are legal reading material in the United
States,
have been rejected by many prison mail rooms as detrimental to the
rehabilitation
of the inmate.

(We maintain that we are the only
organization
helping inmates to understand and cope with their sexuality. Certainly
the penal system is not in the rehabilitation business.)

The unstated reason for the rejection of
our
publications by some prisons is that they contain pictures. Although
these
are legal images, they seem to offend some of the mail room personnel.
However, our Prisoners' Letters contain only text, so they are usually
accepted. A former prisoner may continue to receive the Prisoners'
Letter
while on parole, or may switch to a regular membership and receive all
of our publications by paying dues (or limited income dues if
unemployed).

Requests to receive the Prisoners Letter
must
come from the individual himself. These requests should be sent to:

We encourage you to correspond with
prisoners.
Occasional friendly
letters from friends
and family can be a lifeline. Many ugly prison incidents can
be prevented or mitigated by a prisoner's contacts with the outside
world.
Letters and visits can provide much-needed social and psychological
support
for inmates facing an arbitrary and often brutal prison system, who
might
otherwise lose touch with reality.

Prisoners' incoming and outgoing mail is
opened
for inspection, and usually only checked for contraband. However, the
mail
is sometimes read. We urgently advise pen pals to avoid writing about
any
activities, whether real or imagined, that could be considered illegal.
Correspondence could affect a prison's evaluation of a prisoner's state
of mind, degree of "rehabilitation" and suitability for parole. We also
advise that you should never become involved in any financial
transactions
with your pen pals.

Resource Limitations

Because of the volunteer nature of our
organization,
we do not have the resources to become involved in individual cases,
and
so cannot offer financial support or legal counsel. Nor can we send
free
books or other publications to prisoners.

Disparate Treatment

There is a "pecking order" throughout the
criminal
justice system, shown in everything from treatment at the hands of the
police, through court proceedings, to treatment of prisoners and
parolees
by fellow inmates, guards, and parole officers. Violent criminals, even
murderers and rapists, are given a higher status in the prison
populations
than boy-lovers who were convicted of consensual relations with minors.

The convicted individuals near the top of
this
pecking order often receive lighter sentences and are routinely paroled
at the earliest opportunity; sometimes they are even paroled early to
make
prison space available for those at the bottom of the pecking order. A
convict at the bottom of the pecking order can expect to receive at
least
as long a sentence as a murderer, and some receive multiple,
consecutive
sentences. Even if concurrent multiple sentences are imposed, this can
affect an inmate's parole chances. One conviction for each illegal
sexual
act is common.

Blindly, the criminal justice system
fails
to differentiate between individuals accused of coercive or violent
sexual
acts against youngsters and consensual, loving relationships between
younger
and older people. The Prisoner Program's intention is to support those
unjustly imprisoned for the latter, and to raise the consciousness of
those
guilty of the former.

Therapy

Some states conduct "therapy" programs
for
inmates, and for parolees once they are released. The therapy ranges
from
drug therapy and aversion therapy to group counseling. For parole or
early
release, an inmate's "cooperation" with the prison therapists
conducting
these programs is required. Prisoners are required to enroll for a
"cure,"
to participate, and to seem to be rehabilitated. Some prisoners refuse
therapy. These programs have never been shown to have any lasting value
for the prisoner or for society.

Some states are continuing to hold those
they
consider to be "sexual predators" even after completion of their
original
sentence and parole time. These people are kept behind bars under
"civil
commitment" laws even though they have not been shown to be dangerous
or
mentally ill. Other recent laws require the registration of
ex-"offenders"
with police agencies and community notification of a parolee's
presence,
assuring pariah status and inviting vigilante action.

Many states are notorious for returning
sex
"offenders" to prison for trivial violations of parole conditions. Of
course,
this disrupts and prevents the parolee's adjustment and re-entry into
ordinary
society. Parole violations are a major contributor to widespread
over-crowding
of jails and prison facilities.

Family and Friends of
Prisoners

Incarceration is a terrible thing. For a
boy-lover
ground into the criminal justice system, it is an especially harrowing
fate.

One of the factors that can add to a
prisoner's
despair is the loss of all social and family support. Society's
confusion
about the nature of man-boy love and its stigmatization of this
orientation
often cause family members and friends to distance themselves from the
incarcerated individual. The distant locations of prisons and their
intimidating
procedures also discourage visits and continuing support.

This does not have to be so. If you have
a
relative or friend incarcerated for non-violent acts and want to get a
better understanding of the issues involved, please get in touch with
us.

Things You Can Do:

Make a monetary contribution to the
Prisoner Program.
This will allow us to increase the number of newsletters we can
send.
Tell incarcerated boy-lovers you know about the Prisoner Program.

Acquaint yourself with the dos and
don'ts of writing
to prisoners and become a pen pal.

Visit an incarcerated boy-lover.

Connect with the Prisoners' Civil Rights
movement.

If you have an incarcerated family
member or friend
and you need to better understand his situation, contact us.